PIA26442: Europa Clipper Spies Jupiter and Europa (Artist's Concept)
 Target Name:  Europa
 Mission:  Europa Clipper
 Spacecraft:  Europa Clipper
 Product Size:  3840 x 2160 pixels (w x h)
 Produced By:  JPL
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA26442.tif (24.89 MB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA26442.jpg (796.9 kB)

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Original Caption Released with Image:

This artist's concept depicts NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft silhouetted against Jupiter as it passes over the gas giant's icy moon Europa (bottom center). Scheduled to orbit Jupiter beginning in April 2030, the mission will be the first to specifically target Europa for detailed science investigation.

Europa Clipper's three main science objectives are to determine the thickness of the moon's icy shell and its interactions with the ocean below, to investigate its composition, and to characterize its geology. The mission's detailed exploration of Europa will help scientists better understand the astrobiological potential for habitable worlds beyond our planet.

Managed by Caltech in Pasadena, California, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory leads the development of the Europa Clipper mission in partnership with APL for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. APL designed the main spacecraft body in collaboration with JPL and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. The Planetary Missions Program Office at Marshall executes program management of the Europa Clipper mission.

NASA's Launch Services Program, based at Kennedy, manages the launch service for the Europa Clipper spacecraft, which will launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy.

Find more information about Europa here:

europa.nasa.gov

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL-Caltech

Image Addition Date:
2024-09-18